this one to sell his plan for dealing with the fiscal cliff, we will hear from the president at the white house this hour. connell: and the powerball lotterr everybody is talking about is creating a frenzy, but we have a reality check today with another big story we have been following. it would run the government for an hour and 15 minutes. dagen: and it would last me for half a year. charlie gasparino on the future of the firm and the leader. connell: we start things off with nicole petallides. stocks nowwevery 15 minutes. dagen: good morning. nicole: good morning. we are certainly embedded that3 story. but i wanted to take a look at the broader market. you see they are improving some. pertaining to the fiscal cliff, it really is a market moving event.

you have john boehner talking but he is optimistic a deal can be reached. this comes on the heels of yesterday when you had harry reid expressing caution about the fact things ar were nt going that well. we are seeing the market to the downside, they have improved and you can see it spiked up. alaska mitra said to them. dagen: speaking of house speaker john boehner, he said he is optimistic. >> i'm optimistic we can work together to avert this crisis sooner than later. connell: we also want to show you this, this is skepticism from who you would think would be a major player in the deficit talks. >> i am really worried we have a probability we could go over the cliff, and that would be catastrophic. not to go over the cliff, we have to compromise, have to have

revenue. the problems are real, the solutions are painful, no easy way out. the only way you can do this ifs to have a balanced approach and that is where people are headed. connell: matt welch is here. what do you make of all this, matt? >> there is nobody at the table actually interested in cutting the size of the government. that seems strange to democrats who think we're living in some sort of mythical age of austerity. we had a really good shot. george w. bush used the hell out of spending four years. i don't think john boehner is ultimately interested in it. talkiig $110 billion, the smudge of potential cuts and they're negotiating it away without any entitlement. dagen: are we past the point with no return?

will we become even more of a nation centered around our government that does not promote private business? will anybody ever fix this? >> we will fix it. everything is ultimately fixable, but they set up, the people at the negotiating table, what they're going to do is means test everything. means test tax rates essentially. they will have less in terms of production but we're never going to means test government until we have a different type of people in capitol hill. connell: they pass it before the end of the year. many times these things are fixable and you are forced to fix them. when the bond market comes out, the rates start going up and you say now we have got to get going. it is tough to make the argument over and over again when you are not forced to do that.

>> we will not have the rates overnight suddenly, but we might have come january 1, and it will be an increaaed tax rate and were soft economy. if we actually pay for the cost of government as we have right now, the cost of government is recession. if you pay the size of government now. we will have recession in this country and that blows people's minds a little bit more. i don't see them being forced. we have all of these year-to-year fixes and patches and delay it here. this whole process is an example of doing that. dagen: you talk about the needing to be different. some people might talk about fixing our debt and deficit

problems, but when it comes down to it, they don't want to give up tax rates, pay anymore, and when you talk about cutting government they get up in arms about cutting spending. >> that is definitely true. a few politicians who are talking honestly about this stuff and have been able to win a few elections. people like rand paul might lead it. scott walker of the world, there is a reality we will have to conform to. they're not all being punished at the ballot rocks. we will see a double dip recession and some of the effects of responsibility. there will be more and more politics available for that. connell: we've already heard from boehner today. whoever they're playing to until the end of the year. as always, thanks a lot. dagen: you have seen stocks playoff the progress or lack thereof on the fiscal cliff.

yesterday afternoon, after a little upward movement in the stock market, senator harry reid came out and expressed disappointment on the lack of progress with the automatic tax increases and spending cuts, and the reverse happen again today. getting a bit of a bounce after john boehner sounded optimistic on getting a deal together. chief investment strategist at like rock. it doesn't seem that bad. the market bounced back a little bit, but do you see increased volatility, much wilder swings, potentially, getting closer to this day? >> i think the risk is we will have a lot of days like today where the market bounces around and we're moving on every uttering out of washington. we get positive comments, negative comments, and any more clarity of when the compromise will happen, what it will look

like the market is likely to be hostage to what is going on in washington, d.c. dagen: are you actively telling them to make changes to their portfolio? based on what could happen? >> i think there are some asset classes that are more resilient. fixed income looks expensive, but they look attractive on a regularelative basis including t bonds. it would make even more sense if weewent over the fiscal cliff. dagen: they have had an incredible run in recent years and the category averages, if you look at longer-term muni

bonds, california and new jersey can we have had double-digit returns year to date so far. they aren't getting a little ahead of themselves at this point? >> there are places we would like to avoid, generally the national based muni fund, but it is a relative gain. yes, they look expensive, but you will have investors with a portion of allocations and fixed income. compared to other alternatives, the treasure market, they actually look incredibly cheap. even before you take into account the tax advantage. right now we're in a relative gain, on a relative basis at least it looks attractive. dagen: we sell dividend stocks for the possibility it could go up significantly for wealthier americans. >> i think it depends on the

segment the dividend faces. there are portions of it, utilities look very expensive. these are stocks that have defensive characteristics, have done very well the last two or three years, but in general no, don't the dividend space is any more risk than the broader stock market because people will have a lot to worry about besides their dividends. we're looking at potentially economic recession. many of them have defensive characteristics. they do better in a slow economy even if you take into effect the tax rate is likely to go up. dagen: have a great holiday season. connell: this knight capital story, already confirming reports of charlie gasparino that it has a proposal that are,

but now we have a new development, a competing offer. dagen: charlie gasparino, what do you know? >> the deal is likely to happen today. actively shopping the firm last night in an attempt to get the bid is higher than what was stated in the press. numerous reports about knight capital going for $700 million. it is what we know now is the other ajor player is now coming to the table, run by the former head of the nymex. here is what we know. sources tell the fox business network that likely to present its bid sometime later today. almost a hostile bid in a sense. they filed out with the exchange

commission. they plan to go to the board of directors of knight capital and say this is our bid which is $3.50, half cash, half stock. they plan to present a dual $3 per share all-cash for the board of directors. getco will basically fire john joyce. you are done. what i understand is the management structure is they win. he is one of the top three executives at the newly combined knight capital group. that is an enticing move. some of the interesting things, he tried to shop this, that is an interesting move, not with plenty to talk to black rock about it. i don't think anybody else will

buy it. they clearly got a good bid out of getco. they're still over a billion dollars deal, it is all cash, and it is $3 plus. we should point out the we wille it public tomorrow, we will see the paperwork being filed tomorrow. they are a big owner company when knight capital had the trade 400 some million dollars, would have led to bankruptcy words not for massive capital infusion. i would just say because they're on the board, back up a minute, last year you had basically a

bailout. a bunch of partner scott convertible stock. that is pretty good. they own a chunk of the firm, like 20%. from that vantage point they have a major seat at the table. the problem is there are other investors. what they're going to do is they look at getco. you have to believe the earnings, the combined deal when the two companies together, you will get stock still $3.50 deal, they will say maybe, maybe not. if you do the deal, getco comes public. they buy it outright which means mayye it will become public or not.

as you know, he came out and gave a conference call to investors. one thing, which means they are not all right. enforcement division issued a notice to the firm saying the firm did not have control, they're issued this against the firm. though this means the staff believes full commission can charge you with some sort of a fraud charge. if that happens, that is really if they have to settle a fraud charge, that could essentially put them out of business in a sense big investors, most of the other investors are public investors.

a lot of them could not mess with a fund, theoretically you can get thrown out. dagen: the justice department is not going away either. connell: the powerball deal half a billion dollars. how unbelievably rich. dagen: no ts new smart phone priced to sell. how does it stack up against the new android phone? as we go to break.

connell: dr. nicole at the exchange, i know you're looking, the market has itself turned around a little bit.

nicole: the three of us are talking about john boehner's comments, each time that washington lawmakers of any sort makmay commentary pertaining toe fiscal cliff is a market moving event. john boehner being optimistic a deal can be reached. the dow jones industrial now off 30 points having been down more than triple digits, down 113 points so a complete turnaround. it shows to the worries wall street and americans have. back to you. dagen: 2012 on record to be one of the hottest 10 years in history. major shrinking of the sealand to the record temperatures, the findings released at international climate talks, and blamed it on far-reaching climate changes.

mitt romney finally gets to go to the white house. not the way he imagined, of course. reporting governor romney will have a private lunch with president obama tomorrow. this'll be the first meeting for mr. romney and the president since the election. connell: all the mayhem over the power ball deal, we will hear why so many people may just be throwing their money away. dagen: the newest smart phone. is it flying off of store shelves? $100 with a contract. is it even worth that? walt mossberg is here to tell you yes or no. and they look at how the world currencies are faring against the dollar. copd makes it hard to breathe,

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connell: the development of the lottery everybody seems to be talking about. the jackpot up to half a billion dollars, a second highest

amount, second only two mega millions drawing. you think this lottery is taking advantage of people? >> our mission is to get government out of the gambling business. the biggest policy failures. the fact that lotteries people are like a stealth tax. people paying in and the government is raising revenue that way. it is not advertised that way, but you seem to take it a step further than that. >> it represents government found it a lot easier to provide people funds than real opportunities. instead of doing the hard work it takes to reform our schools,

reform the pension system and so forth, we have come to gimmicks like state lotteries. this is a government program, so that half billion dollars jackpot they keep talking about, it represents the losses of millions of americans. connell: as i said coming in, everybody is talking about it. they go out in the street, i guarantee you talk about the powerball in five minutes or less. you know what, i understand what you are saying, but it is fun. $2, whatever. i don't mind. the government raises a few bucks. maybe i win something. >> what this embodies is about representing a public voice of american government today, this constant calls to lose their

money. buy savings bonds. the consumer federation of america showed more than one out of five americans think the most practical way to build wealth is to play the lottery. this is the american dream. connell: 175 million or some idiotic number in terms of what your odds are of winning. come on. >> this is not about if the staff at fox business has a pool, this is not a social game. people paying hundreds of dollars on the tickets. state lottery makes 80% of their money. connell: the alternative, finish your point, the alternative to this is what?

people say the lottery is there to raise money for education and other things, which we need to raise the money, the alternative you think is what? >> the alternative is a government based on real prosperity and fair taxation across the board. there's a reason why states have the higher taxes, worst budget deficits, increased personal debt. we have to look at the issue of the gamut. it represents this powerball jackpot really embodies how out-of-control it has become. connell: thank you for coming on and sharing it with us once again. >> thank you. dagen: if the president wants mr. obama expected to speak in moments on the tax cuts he wants to keep and he wants to raise maybe.

nokia's newest smart phone. walt mossberg on the good, the bad, and man, this thing is heavy. calls are skyrocketing for holiday travelers, use that as an excuse to not visit to develop his who you can take or leave. connell: let's go back to nicole. what do you have? nicole: taking a close look, heavily traded on washington. a name when i bought my breakfast this morning it was a hot topic. now down $0.13 at 31.22. bp has suspended new contracts with the u.s. government according to the environmental protection agency. this is not good news for bp. everybody is familiar with back in 2010 we had the big oil

spill, 11 workers that died. now the question is integrity, they pleaded guilty to charges, the agency of the environmental protection agency talking about the lack of business integrity they have seen and demonstrated. this is somewhat of an ethics issue out on th only the disastt what followed after that. how much oil spilled, this is why they are now being suspended from the contract. dagen: thank you, nicole. connell: john boehner move the market little bit with his comments within the last hour. the markets are on edge with anything to do with the fiscal cliff situation. but in terms of technology today, nokia's new smart phone is in high demand. easy stories of it driving off the shelves. how does that match up against everything else out there?

dagen: mr. walt mossberg. first and foremost, terrific to see you. >> if you would like, i can say something kind of calling about the fiscal cliff. dagen: yes, please. connell: that would be great. >> why don't we just talk about the phone. dagen: let's send him in and clear out all the bugs. drop it off a cliff, it might break something. bye people, you mean you. so here's the deal. this is the flagship phone from nokia, and one of the flagship phones for windows 8, microsoft's newest version of the ceel phone operating system. in my test, i found it worked

quite well. all the features i tried, almost all of them worked for the well. the camera is very good, the screen is fluid. it is by far the best functioning of these phones i have tried, and it stands up very well. as you pointed out, the only cost half of what a typical iphone or android phone cost. those are usually $200 with a two-year contract, this is $100 with a two-year contract and twice the memory. that is great. there are two problems. it is thick and heavy, it is really heavy, 55% heavier than an iphone 5, 33% heavier than the new google nexus.

and a lot thicker the payout when you are comparing. when you put it in somebody's hands. i have been doing that in the studio, people go nexus, cannot believe how heavy it is. the second problem is the apps windows 8 problem, not a nokia problem. about 120,000 apps, there are 700,000 for the other two platforms. and a number of popular apps you might want like dropbox and google drive. starbucks, a number of them that arr not on here. you're giving up some variety and quantity in apps. dagen: would you give up in terms of weight and the lack of apps, do you think the lower

priceprice at $100 is enough to offset that? it seems like a pretty good deal for somebody who wants a smart phone and just does not want to pay for one. >> there are much lighter android phones for $100, and you can buy the iphone fo 4s. so for me, because this is a mobile, portable device you put in a pocket for the first, i think the thickness and the weight to me personally would not, would be too much for me to want to buy this instead of one of the others. i recognize people look at the trade-offs differently, did not try to cite it up for everybody, just type to lay out here are the trade-offs.

dagen: here is the lowly iphone 4s. the other great operating system. and you're good to go. thank you, it is good to see you. connell: we are waiting on the president, he will be speaking shortly from the white house live earlier. optimistic about a deal he says. we will see what the president has to say about the fiscal cliff, coming up on "markets now." i always wait until the last minute.

can i still ship a gift in time r christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by decemr 22nd for christmas delivery.

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at the convention center with more for us. >> i do. the auto show, the big unveil later today. but we have a sneak peek right here because we're talking to the man, this is the chevy spark electric. >> this is a pure electric, this is a really neat site for us. nobody has sold a car this size that is twic at at this price p. speaker you are doubling down on electrics. >> we're doing about 3000 volts every month. way better than it was. people understanding what the car does. >> walk with me because i know you have a special cut out. it is early out here in california.

as we talked, i want to show you what the car looks like. this has more range than the volts, right? >> the volt has 400 miles total. this is top of the class electric vehicles, pure electric vehicles. a little drive unit right here. more than a ferrari, this car goes from zero to 60 in under eight seconds. connell: we have the fiscal cliff looming, if we go off the cliff and there is a huge problem with economic activity, will you downsize your production? are you taking any steps to guard against that? >> the fiscal cliff is a fiscal cliff. a breakeven point at a very good industry rate, around 11 million units. we have an agility baked into the operational plan that we can

flex its with demand, supply. the industry and general motors in particular on a supply base service are in a different place than three or four years ago. >> maybe we will put the tock price up to see where it is. you areevery proud that day. the stock has not done much. imr. anyway this talk will get traction while the government still has a quarter to go? >> we have undergone the direct competitors in the market. you have to look apples to apples. number two, that is the ownership of the government, i can't decide when they will develop, can only nick money in north america and we have done a good job. it matters about the stock,

we're all concerned about the stock. what drives stock is performance and growth products. >> always great to talk to you. electric, i know you love electric cars, so there you go. i will send this one to you. dagen: they don't make enough noise, the louder, the better. connell: just roll down the windows when you are driving. dagen: that is very true. my car has a beautiful growl to it. connell: i bet it does. obama will be making remarks on the fiscal cliff situation. what they're doing to have a bunch of middle-class americans at the white house making $250,000 or less in what they're trying to do is showcase these are the people affected if the tax cuts for families under 250 are not extended.

dagen: asking americans to take to twitter and other social media to voice their concerns. shibani joshi has more on that. >> we're waiting on the president using every form of media he can to push his agenda on the fiscal cliff issue. taking the social meeting even before he gets up on television and speak pushing on twitter and other websites including the whitehouse.gov. this new hash tag on twitter to spark a dialogue about the proposed tax cut extensions. the hash tag is my two k. alluding to the $200,000 in tax increases the middle class could avoid if the tax cuts aren't extended. taking to twitter to get to be talking about what this debate and the $2200 could mean for them and obviously gaining support for the agenda. we're already getting tons of

supplies, already wrote i will use my two k. for my son's education. also, saying get the deficit down, please. it is also team him up for criticism. you can't just tax the wealthy to be serious about debt reduction you need entitlement reform and stop spending money that you just don't have. it is cutting the administration both ways. looking at the top trending topic, it is not up there yet, but we're waiting for the president to talk about this to spark a dialogue very soon. connell: we will see him on tv in a few minutes. shibani joshi, thank you. dagen: stocks now and every 15 minutes. some stocks are still in the red, which ones, nicole?

nicole: looking at bank of america. how the market came up off of the lows. looking at bank of america, wanted to use that as an example. moving into the green, but it was a couple of pennies shy for moving into the green. a name like american express, the credit card companies move into the green, a look of the dow jones industrials up 12 points. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 still slightly in the red awaiting the president and everybody else still focusing on the fiscal cliff. connell: we will have those remarks from the president coming up as soon as they begin live from the white house and on the fiscal cliff as soon as it gets started we will bring it to you live on fox business. dagen: a look at some of the winners on the nasdaq.

dagen: there you are looking at a live shot straight from the white house, waiting for the president to step up and begin speaking shortly again about keeping the bush tax cuts for those americans making less than $250,000 per year. we talked about it in the inverse about raising taxes on those making more than $200,000.

he is a little late. connell: we have other things talk about, otherwise we would be standing here staring at that extra. probably the best part of the live show. taking a trip this christmas could cost a lot more than it did last year. travel sites are predicting travelers flying several top destinations can pay 8% more than they did last year. one of the busiest of days to be flying over christmas holiday december 22, which is a saturday. travelers can pay close to 27% more to travel that day than the same time last year. looking to get a great deal on a foreclosure home, the latest foreclosure ports. 106 homes received foreclosures

in october. some states receiving deep discounts on those foreclosures. the top states with the biggest deals. one they're looking at is the state of ohio. michigan, illinois, nebraska and louisiana. dagen: you have to pay cash though. you have to have all cash in many instances. connell: as we wait for president obama coming earnings from some of the biggest teen retailers shedding light on who is winning over the under 20 crowd. dagen: sandra smith is actually able to fit into those clothes. we talked about this the other day. a lot of the retailers were or apparel stores, a lot of the younger shoppers hit the malls

and open up their wallets. taking a look at the leaders on the s&p 500 right now, quite a few of them happen to be quite a few of them. you also have nordstrom in the mix, the top five winners in the market, retailers with better-than-expected news from the retailers. earaeropostale up. they had a huge hit yesterday after the retailer competition is too hot for them, they will lose market share to those like abercrombie. but aeropostale bouncing back today. american eagle reporting better than expected. they are lowering their prices

and attracting those looking for a bigger bargain. really making a comebaak after selling off in the mid-fall months. and of course there is abercrombie, the fear of all the big teen retailers. to get the crowds and the prices are a bit higher. american eagle and thei aeropose fighting for market share. it has been a volatile one so far this year. the teen retailers end of the year analyst have those stocks have just mentioned. we will get the dollars over the holiday shopping months. the ones to watch, guys. back to you. connell: women of a different age. if i ever need it, i will know that this report.

dagen: there you go. president obama sets to speak at any moment. we will take you there live when that begins to happen.

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and uld save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. callow to request your free decision guide. and learn moreabout ts that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. >> we are coming up on noon eastern time here on markets now. i am sure -- i am cheryl casone. dennis: i am dennis kneale. cheryl: we are waiting on the president. dennis: if you do not make that $250,000, your taxes will stay lower. cheryl: as we pray for the

president to to unddr take the stand, we will bring in peter barnes. >> a week or so ago the white house sent out a tweet and asked people to send and you what it would mean because if the bush tax cuts expire, for middle tax taxpayers there will be $2000 more per year in taxes on average. from a pool of thousands of people, the white hhuse has selected 85 of them to join the president here for this event today. the president and a major pr campaign and trying to push republicans to pass tax cuts for the middle class and race tax

cuts for those making over $250,000. dennis: it seems like a lot of emphasis on raising the bush tax cuts. our government is overspending by $1 trillion a year. the president walking out now. cheryl: as we look at these business leaders, this is about the middle-class axpayers. he really wants to stick with the plan. he wants to let the bush tax cuts expire for those that make over $250,000. they want to extend tax cuts for the middle class. we believe this will be kind of campaign style, if you will. [ applause ] >> hello. it is good to see you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you, everybody.

please, have a seat. thank you. thank you very much. everybody, please have a seat. except you guys. do not sit down. [ laughter ] good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> there has been a lot of talk here in washington about the deadlines we are facing on taxes and deficits. these deadlines will be coming up very soon in the coming weeks. today is important because i want to make sure everyone understands. this debate is not just about numbers. it is a set of major decisions that will affect millions of families, all across this country. in very significant ways. their voices, the voices of the american people, have to be part of this debate. i asked some friends of mine here to join me. some folks from here in the

area. our ultimate goal is in agreement that gives our long-term deficit under control in a way that is fair and balanced. that kind of agreement would be @ood for our businesses, good for our economy, good for our children's future. i believe that both parties can agree on a framework that does that in the coming weeks. in fact, my hope is to get this -@done before christmas. but, the place where we already had this complete agreement, right now, it is on middle-class taxes. as i have said before, we have two choices. if congress does nothing, every family in america will see their taxes automatically go off at the beginning of next year. starting january 1, every family in america will see their taxes go up. a typical middle-class family of

four, would see its income taxes go up by $2200. $2200 out of people's pockets. that means less money for buying groceries, less money for filling prescriptions, less money for buying diapers -- [ laughter ] >> it needs a tougher choice between paying rent and paying tuition. middle-class families cannot afford that right now. businesses cannot afford it either. yesterday i sat down with some small business owners. if taxes go up on middle-class next year, consumers will spend nearly $200 billion less on things like cars, clothes and furniture. that, obviously, means fewer customers. that cuts into business profits. that makes businesses less likely to invest in higher which means fewer jobs and i can drag our entire economy down. the good news is, there is a

better option. right now, as we speak, congress can pass a law that would prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of everybody's income. everybody's. that means that 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses would not see their income taxes go up by a single dime. 98% of americans, 97% of small businesses would not see their income taxes go up by a single dime. even the wealthiest americans, would still get a tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income. it is not like folks who make more than $250,000 are not getting a tax break also. they are getting a tax break on the first to 15th, just like everyone else. families will be able to enjoy some peace of mind heading into christmas and the new year.

it would give us more time then next year to work together on a comprehensive plan to bring down our deficits, to streamline our tax system, to do it the right way. now, i know some of this may sound familiar to you because we talked a lot about this in the campaign. this should not be a surprise to anybody. this was a major debate in the presidential campaign and congressional campaigns across the country. a clear majority of americans, not just democrats, but also a lot of republicans and also a lot of independence, agreed we should have a balanced approach to deficit reduction that does not hurt middle-class americans. more and more republicans in congress seem to be agreeing with this idea that we should

have a balanced approach. if both parties agree we should not raise taxes on middle-class families, let's begin our work with where we agree. the senate has already passed a bill that keepssincome taxes from going off on middle-class families. democrats in the house are ready to vote for that same bill today. if we can get a few hoose republicans to agree as well, i will sign this bill as soon as congress sends it my way. i have to repeat, i have a patent, i am ready to sign it. [ applause ] my point is to say, let's approach this problem with the middle-class in mind. the folks who are behind me and the millions of people all across the country who they represent. the american people are watching what we do.

middle-class families, folks who are working hard to get into the middle-class, ttey are watching what we do right now. if there is one thing i have learned, with american people speak loud enough, low and behold, congress listens. some of you may remember that a year ago, during our last big fight to protect the class families, tens of thousands of little class americans called and pleaded and e-mailed their representative asking them to do the right thing. sure enough, it worked. congress got the message loud and clear in a major interest rates on college student loans did not go off. when enough people get involved, we have a pretty good track record of actually making congress work. that is important. this is our biggest challenge yet. it is one we can only be to gather. in the interest offmaking sure

that everybody makes their voices heard, last week, we asked people to tell us what would a $2000 tax hike need for them. some families said it would make it more difficult to send their kids to college. others said it would be tougher to cover the cost of prescription drugs. some said it would be tough for them to make their mortgage. lynn ryan, she just wants to see some cooperation in washington. she wrote, let's show the rest of the world that we are adults and living in a democracy, we can solve our problems by working together. that is what this debate is all about. that is why it is so important that as many americans as possible send a message that we need to keep moving forward. today, i am asking congress to listen to the people who sent us here to serve. i am asking americans all across

the country to make your voice heard. tell members of congress what a $2000 tax hike would mean to you. call your members of congress. write them an e-mail. posted on their facebook walls. i want to assure the american people i am doing my part. i am sitting down with ceos. i am sitting down with labor leaders. i am talking with leaders of congress. i am ready and able and willing and excited to go ahead and get this issue resolved in a bipartisan fashion so that american families, american businesses have some certainty going into next year. we can do it in a balanced and fair way, but our first job is

to make sure taxes on middle-class families do not go up and since we are theoretically agree on that, we should go ahead and get that done. [ applause ] if we get that done, a lot of other stuff will be easier. in light of spreading this message, i will be visiting pennsslvania on friday to talk with folks of a small business there to make sure that they are filling their christmas orders. i will go anywhere and i will do whatever it takes to get this done. it is too important for washington to screw this up. now is the time to work on what we all agree to and that is to keep middle-class taxes low. that is what the economy needs. that is what the american people deserve. if we get this part of it right, a lot of the other issues will be a whole lot easier. if we get this wrong, the economy will go south. it will be much more difficult

for us to balance our budget and deal with our deficits because if the economy is not strong, that means more money is going out and things like unemployment insurance and less money is coming in. it makes our deficit worse. we really need to get this right. i can only do it with the help of the american people. tweet my 2k or e-mail, post it on a member of congress' facebook wall. do what it takes to communicate a sense of urgency. we do not have a lot of time here. we have a few weeks to get this done. we could get it done tomorrow. optimistically, i do not think we will get it done tomorrow. [ laughter ] i tell you, if everyone here goes out of their way to make their voices heard and spread

the word to your friends and family, coworkers and neighbors, i am confident that we will get it done. we will get america on the right track, not just for next year, but for many years to come. thank you very much, everybody. [ applause ] cheryl: president obama once again calling for, i guess, you could call it a compromise. he did make one comment about the deficit reduction. it really was calling on congress saying this is up to you. dennis: he was calling on americans to contact their congressmen and invite them to raise taxes on anybody else, but me. cheryl: we have gerri willis here with us to talk about this issue. first, jim, to you. do you feel any better now that he has spoken? >> not really.

i did not hear compromise. i kind of have to respectfully disagree. i think the american people are overwhelmingly calling for a compromise. i think the republicans have made the first move to put spending cuts back on the table or on the table. sorry, the republicans on the tax hike in the raising of revenues, i am not hearing the other side. they really do have to go hand in hand. i think the democrats and president are -- we could turn this off. this could be an absolutely self-inflicted wound. dennis: calling on america and extending the bushhtax cuts for another year.

do you get a feeling that the americans are clamoring for tax increases for people making more >> i do not think so. the president said this is not about the numbers. of course, it is about the numbers. he is most worried about the gdp. the more taxes, the worse the economy will do. that is the real problem. he just seems to avoid that and not think about it. it is clear that higher taxes mean less spending by the people you rely on to make this economy go. cheryl: in jim's mind, you think that if we do go off the cliff, no deal. you are saying a 1.5 hit to gdp. >> a driver of our ability to kind of continue to, at least, rebuild and strengthen. i also think home prices have

been one of the drivers of that consumer feeling more in bold. we are not calling for that. we are expecting a compromise. i am telling you when i listened to the president and his position, i am not hearing a lot of that. dennis: if they raise taxes on people that make more than $250,000 a year, we have a trillion dollar deficit every year. >> it sounds stupid at this point. we cannot come to the right answer. that people in washington do not understand the economy. they do not know how it works and they make a lot of gases. at the end of the day, they come up with a policy that is not good for the american people.

the impact of the fiscal cliff is completely misunderstood. the fiscal cliff is absolutely important. it will cost you money. it may cost you jobs. we can see the gdp fall off the cliff. 710,000 to 2 million jobs. that depends on who you believe. dennis: thank you both for being with us. you can catch gerri willis here on weeknights on fox business. at 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. monday through friday. >> watch out, here i come. cheryl: charlie gasparino is now reporting that tom joyce would be the ceo of knight capital. dennis: here is a juicy tidbit.

mr. grasso would return as an unofficial advisor. charlie will be on later this hour to tell us about it. stay with us. ♪ [ abdul-rashid ] i've been workg since i was about 16. you know, one job or the other. the moment i could access e retirement plan, i just became firm about it -- you know, it's like it just hits y fast. you know, youtart thinking about what's really important here. ♪

>> and nicole petallides live on the floor of the new york stock exchange.

every 15 minutes, we do stocks now. look at the dow jones industrials. not too far off of the highs. you see we were in the red and that we got some positive commeets from john boehner, u.s. house speaker, john boehner. talking about reaching some sort of deal. now we just heard from president obama who talks about extending, obviously, the tax cuts for the middle class. yesterday, when we heard from harry reid, that made the market sell off. these comments are market moving events. dennis: thank you. as for oil, it has been in the red for much of the morning.

phil flynn standing by at the cme. >> a great day and oil today. we are down because of the fiscal cliff worries. we actually got a smaller than expected build and oil. we have a negative and oil. that normally would have normally been very, very bullish. it was huge. almost 3.68 million barrels. what is happening here is we saw a drop of 1.5 billion barrels. they could not get into new york harbor. they are showing up on shore in a big way. back to you. dennis: thank you. cheryl. cheryl: this could cost tens of

thousands of jobs. dennis: toyota takes it turned out the auto show. first, let's take a look at the world currencies and the u.s. dollar. ♪ this is america.

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dennis: a new tax on medical equipment makers revenues. nonprofits, revenues. it has a medical community and an uproar. elizabeth macdonald is here with more. >> we have 800 companies that send a letter to senator harry reid saying, look, this tax which will raise $30 billion over ten years is supposed to be for healthcare reform, well, guess what, it is going to hurt job creation. i will teel you something, it is paid on sales, not profits, but the companies have to pay the tax even if they do not have any profits. they operate thin margins. here is what the letter writers warned: also look at impacting other people. patient care, increase cost of

healthcare, as well as jobs. why tax device manufacturers as if they are taxing alcohol or cigarettes. that is what it is and excise tax on sales. ge healthcare, santa fe, the tax rate that these guys face, pacemakers, devices for brain surgery, prosthetics for returning soldiers, get this, 80%. state, local, federal. [talking over each other] dennis: that is one of the few major manufacturing hedges we have for medical equipment. r and d getting outsourced to

other countries right now. cheryl: what you think this will do to the industry overall? let's not make this stuff in the united states, let's maybe go to israel. israel has a very strong and nicole industry. they may actually move ahead of the united states. >> these letter writers are saying, look, we are already pulling back on our end the year in the united states. nationally, that would affect job growth here. cheryl: you have stocks now, of course, every 15 minutes. nicole: we are setting new session highs. take a look at the dow jones industrials. we are up about 15 points right

now. american express turning into the green over the last hour or so. the s&p 500 is now well into the green. it is one third of 1% to the upside..3 that obviously is better than what we have done throughout the day here. retailers are doing quite well today. let's take a look at two names. express as well as ann taylor. they came out with third-quarter profit that beat the street and raised their outlook. take a look at express. they are doing well. they reported weaker sales. i want to take a winner also at costco. that has been a leader on the s&p 500. another name that moves along with the whole fiscal cliff idea, over 100 companies have done this where they are issuing special dividends to the end of 2011 rather than letting it slip

into 2013 and getting more heavily taxed. kosko did that. names like jcpenney, limited and coat also leading the way on the s&p 500. you can see it has been a winner on the s&p 500. it is up over 5%. cheryl: nicole petallides, thank you very much. one of the biggest revelations out of a conference call with investors this morning is that they are considering filing charges against had for that. charlie gasparino trying to provide a few answers for us. charlie: there is no better

authority on insider trading. you know a lot about those that do engage. nice to see you again, john. >> my pleasure. charlie: you meet with your investors. the sec is in the news, obviously. here is what an as aco official said during a press conference. they have received notice from staff that it could bring charges against capital advisors and a control person as part of its investigation into the insider trading. they have referred to the full commission that several charges could be filed. nine times out of ten, the staff's recommendations are heated. does that mean that they could be seen their final days?

>> i do not know if that will happen. do understand that most notices produce a settlement, even before the commission votes on anything. it is really an invitation rendering settlement talks. the unique thing about sac is it is 60% or more owned by its owner. it will not be quite the same run on the bank problem that would arise at other hedge funds where investors would demand reduction. no one can redeem here until sometime in about february. it does not surprise me that the sec is following along the criminal investigation. the sec only has to probe preponderance of the evidence.

charlie: this is not completely similar, but it is interesting in the approach, when goldman sachs was hit with a charge by the sec a few years ago, one of the things that goldman sachs file for was to make sure it was not hit with what is known as a 10b charge. they felt it would have a really negative impact on the business. they are a big bang. they fought like hell. let's say sec capital is forced to settle on a 10b5 charge. they are taken to court. they get nailed on that. what does that mean for the future of sac capital? >> the likelihood that the public investors would demand redemption. we would have a mini run on the bank. it could produce not only do

10b5 charge and a higher penalty, but possible revocation of your license. that would mean you could not handle your own trades. you would have to go to a different broker or dealer for your trades. it seems like that would be the end of sac capital. charlie: it looks like they are having a difficult time drawing the line completely to him, to steve: as a culprit in these. >> my view is it is the indispensable witness.

charlie: the latest portfolio manager charged in this insider trading. >> he will be indicted. he is the means to the end. he is only person who can link the knowledge that came from doctor gilman with cohen and say he knew it came from cheating. so far, a number of people at sac have been criminally prosecuted and some have pled guilty. this is the one location in which the government thinks -- charlie: because matthew thoma gave the information that was inside information to mr. cohen, not labeling it necessarily. let's just say he does not turn

off as a witness, is the endgame, listen, we know this is a culture that has no compliance. we want to shut them down and here is how we are going to do it. the control person does not know what they are doing. it is a hedge fund out of control. i think the similar route is not going after mr. cohen. but revoking their brokerage license of sac capital. at that point, you probably would cause the other investors to withdraw their capital. charlie: okay. there you go. thank you, john. appreciate it. back to you guys. cheryl: charlie gasparino. thank you very much. dennis: hundreds of thousands of egyptians protesting president obama morsy latest power grab. egypt has replaced one dictator with another. this time it is worse.

brett, obama came out it was in the "new york times" saying he was impressed with the new president's confidence. a day later morsy basically the clerk himself above the law. what do you make of that? >> it is hilarious except for the fact of it is tragic for egyptians. it is very clear where this is going. it has been a constant amazement to see this administration constantly giving the brotherhood the benefit of the dow pretending it will be anything other than an organization, a 83-year-old organization. we ought to know who these guys are, how they are trained, and what they are aiming at. the administration was caught a little flat-footed, dennis. dennis: why is it that the u.s.

government, the media, are we guilty of wishful thinking? >> this is actually a profound mystery. over the last few years, there have been some articles and magazines try to claim that the moslem brotherhood is a moderate organization. gerri ford was a moderate republican. by any standard that we would describe as moderate, they are not. they are a very extreme organization. dennis: i was surprised, 200,000 protesters risking life and limb >> it is not a lot, dennis. what has actually been striking is the muslim brotherhood to not have counter protest.

thii is the roughness of a operation falling apart. dennis: okay. thank you very much, brett stephens. got to watch that. cheryl: one of the biggest event for the auto season. probably jeff fox favorite thing. dennis: the big copyright battle between a big brand and names. we have the details. first, take a look at treasuries. ♪

>> i am tracy byrnes with your fox business brief. new single-family home sales fell within expected. a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 368,000. september figures were also revised lower.

fewer americans are applying fo% home mortgages. it dropped nine tenths of 1% in the week ending november 23. student loan balances and delinquency will surpass that of credit cards for the first time ever in the third quarter. according to the federal reserve bank of new york, student debt has risen 56% whereas other forms have declined 18%. that is the latest from the fox business network. giving you the power to prosper. ♪ n i help you? i heard you guys can ship ground for less than the ups store. that'right. i've learned the only way to get a holiday deal is to camput. you know we've been open all night. is this a trick to get my spot?

[ male nouncer ] break from the holiday stress. save on ground shippg at fedex office. cheryl: my next guest that of a new product that makes cleaning more fun for the kids. amy bradley is the inventor of the toys dozer. it is a way to get the kids to clean up after themselves. >> that is right.

yes. great for parents or kids. cheryl: explains the toy. we know it is available on amazon. it is $15. >> i have an 8-year-old son and most parents will tell you that they love toys that come in a million little pieces. my son, especially, loves legos. they are scattered all over the floor making cleanup had a huge tedious chore for all of us. i had this idea to make a toys dozer. cheryl: it scoops them up. >> in second. cheryl: and kids like this? >> yes. they love it. the colors appeal to them. the fact that it is based on the bulldozer appeals to edit. the fact that it gets there toys up quickly and they have fun using it is great.

cheryl: you decided you wanted to create a product and at the same time you had your first batch of toys made in mexico and it was a disaster. then you brought manufacturing back to this country. >> right. when we received our first production run from mexico, 85% were damaged. you put so much work into leading up to the actual production run. it took months and months of hard work. it is devastating when that happens. i think, ultimately, what we realized, we were not in control. when your product is made so far away whether it is china or mexico, you cannot be hands on. i cannot get to the factory and oversee what is going on. now, it is 20 minutes up the road in pennsylvania. cheryl: amy bradley. thank you so much. >> thank you very much. thank you for having me. cheryl: dennis, over to you.

dennis: los angeles auto show begins friday. jeff flock is there. jeff: the most important introduction at this show tend not to be the sexiest one. we will have the new vw beetle convertible. everyone is excited to see that. the important introductions are the ones that sell the most. this is the route for. bob carter, look out bob. i tell you, i have the guy in charge of sales which is even better. you are very excited about this because you sell a lot of these. >> it is a wonderful vehicle. it is the fastest growing segment right now. jeff: and you invented this? >> we did. what we are introducing here is the fourth generation of the first crossover suv. jeff: it is your fourth best

selling vehicle over ford and lexus. >> value for customers that others do not offer. jeff: bob carter, the big sales at toyota. >> we are having a wonderful year right now. the economy is improving and the industry is coming back. jeff: i appreciate it very much. first on fox, bob carter. too late, jim, we already talked to bob carter. the big guys at toyota. back to you guys. dennis: thank you, jeff. nicely done. angus t jones, the 19-year-old who grew up on "two and a half men" and lately has found god is

now apologizing. he apologizes "if my remarks reflect me showing a difference to and his respect to my colleagues in a lack of respect --." the black keys, a music group, they filed a lawsuit against pizza hut, home depot filing of stealing terms. and, he is back. cnn next president. he is also the guy that tried to put leno on it 10:00 o'clock. profitable piece of time warner, $680 in profits this year. it runs third two fox news, our sibling. jeffrey zucker is anything but dull. cheryl: why would he want to take over cnn.

he used to run all of nbc's universal. why would you? why would you do that? dennis: when you have as much money as he does, it is no longer about the money. it is about your legacy. if you can go into cnn and turn them around, his reputation will be sealed. cheryl: i am thinking katie couric is not very happy about this right now. a california solo company is going public next week. it gives investors like it for a billion-dollar market cap. dennis: if you think you will win big tonight, we have some advice on scoring .powerball jackpot. i bought yesterday. take a look at some of today's winners on the nasdaq. ♪

cheryl: this will begin trading on the nasdaq december 12. spectacular pictures from the big island of hawaii. a rare sight as an active volcano is spilling lava into the ocean. attracting thrill seekers and gawkers. they are warning they need to keep a safe distance. it creates a unstable land mass that could easily collapse. how about getting this out of a

slot machine and zip lining downtown. officials planned to call it slot zila. riders will pay between 20 and $30 a ride. it is being built in downtown las vegas. that is your west coast minute. dennis: tonight's record powerball jackpot now at $550 billion. when you win, what should you do first. we have a estate planning attorney with advice on that. take the smaller of out of that or let them pay me though. over the rest of my life? >> take the full sum. sign the back of it and puttit in a safe. hire some professional to teach you how to plan for your new found wealth and create a trust so that you have a buffer when your cousin harry has a great investment idea.

dennis: you told us you have to develop money-management skills. you pay off all debts. you do not have to worry about anything on that ever again. what if i am going into an office pool. >> make sure that the rules are crystal clear. never spot someone because then they can claim that you agreed to spot them. dennis: what else do you have for us? >> put the money in a trust. the wind is subject to income taxes. it is also subject to 55% estate taxes. as of, when we die, january 1, 2013. we have four more weeks leet of 2012 where we could take $5 million gift it into a trust and get it outside of our gross taxable estate.

dennis: thank you for being with us. good ay to you. cheryl: i have my tickets right here, dennis. i am ready to when. i have the winning numbers. luckily, i convinced you to buy extra tickets. the federal government may be about to fly down and already weak housing market. dennis: both parties leaning towards getting rid of inductions. melissa and lori will be up next. ♪

>> two points in the powerball lottery at $550 million. i spent $20 on tickets randomly chosen by computer and i am thinking you prefer to do your own numbers. >> i actually ha